My #JewishCleveland: Jennie Becker

LEADing by Example

I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. In middle school, my family moved to Florida, but we always kept our ties with Northeast Ohio. My brother went to Camp Wise; many years later, I ended up moving back to Cleveland and taking a job as the Assistant Director for Camp Wise.

Jewish Cleveland, for me, is very much rooted at Camp Wise. Not only did I work there, I met my husband, Ben, there. Because of its deep roots in the community, it’s how I got connected, why I’m still connected, and why I wanted to become involved with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

I worked with Jessie Bruder, who is now director of Federation’s Young Leadership Division (YLD). She introduced me to YLD and brought me onto the Board. Then came the spark I was looking for that truly helped immerse me into Jewish Cleveland - LEADS (YLD’s Leadership Education Development Series), which is designed to foster young adult leadership skills as a professional and a volunteer. I quickly learned about myself - how to grow, fit in, and contribute as a young leader in Jewish Cleveland, but LEADS also prepared me to be a leader in the community.

Now, as a Co-Chair of LEADS, I’m able to model for the new group of participants - how they can become leaders in and out of Jewish Cleveland. My job is to teach them about Jewish Cleveland and guide them to become successful leaders. Many of us benefitted from Federation in one way or another. We’re in a place now where we can appreciate that and want to be a part of a community like that.

In the five years since I was introduced to LEADS, I have become a better teacher, leader, speaker, programmer, and planner. I have become a mentor to my students and colleagues. Jewish Cleveland is such a unique and special community; when you experience something so powerful like LEADS, you owe it to yourself to be a part of it.

This is #MyJewishCleveland!

For information on the next session of LEADS, please contact Jessie Bruder at jbruder@jcfcleve.org or 216-593-2869.

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